


An Affair To Remember

by guti



Category: Football RPF
Genre: Berni the Bear, Champions League, Crack, FC Bayern München, J the Zebra, Juventus, M/M, Mascots, Mascots In Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-17
Updated: 2016-03-17
Packaged: 2018-05-27 06:16:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6273073
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/guti/pseuds/guti
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They knew, going in, that only one of them would be happy by the time the night was over.  However, neither of them realized that they would both wind up in tears.</p>
            </blockquote>





	An Affair To Remember

The leaving was the hardest part. They knew, going in, that only one of them would be happy by the time the night was over. However, neither of them realized that they would both wind up in tears.

“I’m sorry,” Berni said, trembling slightly as he watched his companion shove an extra pair of golden boots into his case. “I’m sorry it had to be like this.”

J turned back to him, face looking especially long as he tugged the zipper along. “I’m sorry, too.” No matter how he tried, he couldn’t quite keep it together. From the very moment they met at the airport in Turin, it had been a magical union. J had always seen himself as a sort of lonely fellow, set apart from the world, isolated in a way, and for the most part he was happy to live his life that way. No one had ever touched his heart or moved him, no one had really understood him. No one until Berni, anyway.

After their days spent exploring the city and bonding over their (surprisingly) similar backgrounds, their nights together in Italy had been a revelation of love— an exploration of emotions he never knew he could experience. Sure, he’d heard stories (he’d even accidentally witnessed a few _acts of love_ in the locker room) but he never fixated on it as something he’d like for himself. But from the moment their eyes met and Berni’s paws touched his hooves, everything changed. He gave himself over to the reckless abandon of love, and now that the round of sixteen was over and his side were knocked out, he would have to retreat to Turin, alone, with only the memories of his darling teddy bear to keep him warm at night.

“You can stay,” Berni growled softly, almost timid in its gentleness. J blinked, catching the pleading look in his eyes. “You can stay here in Munich. You don’t have to go, _hengst_. You don’t have to leave.”

J lowered his eyes, unable to meet Berni’s gaze, afraid he might lose his resolve and melt under the warmth of his chocolate stare. “What would you have me do? Leave my home? My family? I can’t… I just…” He began to weep.

Berni put his paw to his mouth to hold back a sob of his own. No, he couldn’t ask J to give up everything to build a life in Germany, couldn’t ask him to stay with him forever. No matter how in tune they were, no matter that their hearts and minds would always be intertwined, he knew that to ask J to turn his back on Turin would be the same as asking him to give up part of himself. Love sometimes called for sacrifices, but Berni couldn’t stand the thought of his beloved giving up his home and family, couldn’t bear the idea that J might become depressed or resentful at having left his world behind.

It just wasn’t fair, but that was the lot they’d been given. Bears lived in Munich; zebras in Turin.

J turned back to Berni, wiping the tears from his eyes. “ _Tesorino_ ,” he sniffled, whinnying softly. Berni opened his arms, and J trotted into his embrace. “I will think of you always.”

“And I will think of you,” Berni said, stroking his lover’s beautiful mane. “You and I have something special, J. You will carry a piece of me back with you to Italy.”

J flared his nostrils and looked at him curiously. “I will?”

“Yes,” said the bear. “You will carry a piece of my heart.”

“Oh, Berni!” J cried, and they shared a passionate kiss goodbye.

Love was sometimes fleeting, and the leaving was the hardest part, but as J the zebra boarded the flight back to Turin, he was warmed and comforted by the memories that he and Berni shared, by the knowledge that he had known the sweetness of true love, and the regret of a love now gone. But there was hope in his heart yet— there was a prospect that perhaps their affair could begin anew again someday. After all, they well could draw each other again next season.

**Author's Note:**

> i am so sorry for this you guys but i couldn't help myself. if you haven't seen the promo vids of the mascots together, you're in for a [real](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGJJvZESwy4) [treat](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uutPN0KjCug) [I'm](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEq9LPfd8i0) [not](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-ccyFtBXe8) [even](https://youtu.be/ayAO1zkmxuU?list=PLamQuNkRTV0eeicjNtj2EfA4Zdya8a_e3) [kidding](https://youtu.be/0CxV94WHF5U).
> 
> no seriously these were so cute i want an entire tv series about them and their adventures.


End file.
